Although I love carrot cake and spices, I am not a fan of those carrot cakes that are overlyladen with spices, resulting in a cake that tastes almost medicinal. This carrot cake is gently spiced, has a very moist sponge and the most luscious melt-in-the-mouth icing that is both sweet and slightly sharp.

These crisp chocolate shells are filled with a rich chocolate ganache that has been blended with toasted and crushed nuts: a kind of grown-up Nutella, with a soft, melt-in-the-mouth finish. And this is a great way to use up the remains of various packets of nuts that were opened ages ago! Continue reading “Toasted nut chocolates”

Blackcurrant curd is vibrantly coloured, intoxicatingly fragrant and tangy – and it is very simple to make. As blackcurrants are very much in season here in the UK (I am picking punnets of them every few days at the moment), I love making several batches of them. Continue reading “Blackcurrant curd – and a video from me!”

Clotted cream is one of those phenomenal things that never fails to give me utter contentment. Slathered over freshly made, slightly warm scones and everything is perfect with the world! This is my quirky take on clotted cream, flavouring it with lemongrass. Continue reading “Home-made lemongrass clotted cream”

Caramel-filled chocolates are right up there among my favourite chocolates to make, so this time I used smoked sea salt to flavour the caramel. These are great to give to people as gifts or simply to munch on without guilt! Continue reading “smoked sea-salted caramel chocolates”

I am not the greatest fan of rhubarb, so finding ways to use up the allotment rhubarb we inherited years ago is a particular challenge for me. However, I do love this particular cake, which I always make around this time of year when my rhubarb is prolific. As an extra bonus, this cakes takes moments to “throw together” before getting baked. Continue reading “Rhubarb and ginger crumble cake”